1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mask bead for a patient interface.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Masks are used in the area of respiration and sleep therapy for supplying a patient with respiratory gas by means of a flow or pressure source. The mask represents the interface between patient and appliance. It consists in most cases of a mask body with a mask bead and is fixed on the patient's head by means of a harness and, optionally, an additional forehead support. The mask body is generally made of a relatively stiff plastic, and the mask bead, which bears on the face or on parts of the face of the patient, is made of a relatively thin, soft material, preferably a skin-compatible silicone, a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) or polyurethane, and it generally has a sealing lip in order to ensure a sufficient seal and to prevent leaks.
Most conventional mask beads for a breathing mask are usually available in the sizes S, M and L, so as to meet the greatest possible number of different configurations of the face and nose of the patients, and so as to ensure the greatest possible wearing comfort, the best possible fit, and a high degree of leaktightness.
Known solutions of this kind mean that a large number of masks have to be offered in order to cover all different shapes and sizes of faces.
It would be advantageous to have available a mask bead that is suitable for nasal masks and/or full-face masks and that provides a high degree of adaptability to different sizes and different shapes of face parts and nose parts of the patients. Patients can have different nose shapes with high or low nose bridge regions, narrow or broad and long or short noses. The mask bead should therefore be able to adapt to all possible nose shapes and to provide the desired fit and leaktightnes s.